Should my sound mixer also may be the Boom pole operator?

This should be good.
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In the middle of a take, how is he going to reach down and ride the levels and hold the boom with two hands at the same time. But If you find a sound guy with three arms, go for it, and pay him time and a half. your still saving money. LOL
 
I just thought that having a sound tech, and a mixer would be enough cry!!!!!!!! Now I have to increase my budget.... damm up to 13 people now.
 
ForgottPassword said:
I just thought that having a sound tech, and a mixer would be enough cry!!!!!!!! Now I have to increase my budget.... damm up to 13 people now.
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No offense but I feel bad for the boom op you end up hiring if you think he doesn't work as hard as anyone else on set.
 
Rippie said:
No offense but I feel bad for the boom op you end up hiring if you think he doesn't work as hard as anyone else on set.
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Just a past experience I had with a boom pole operator, slacking out. And me having to yell "boom pole guy!" We need you now. My personal fault though. Plus he was free.

Also if I offended anyone, than forgive me. It's my first time making a decently budget short film, only had no budget ones before. That means I'm actually hiring a crew now.
 
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ForgottPassword said:
Just a past experience I had with a boom pole operator, slacking out. And me having to yell "boom pole guy!" We need you now. My personal fault though. Plus he was free.

Also if I offended anyone, than forgive me. It's my first time making a decently budget short film, only had no budget ones before. That means I'm actually hiring a crew now.
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Well of course the problem you had was with the person, not the position.
I don't know your budget for a sound mixer but there are plenty of times 1 person is enough. If you do go with one guy he better be very good at his job.
You will absolutely work quicker though with a 2 member sound dept, and because the single person isn't being overwhelmed with everything you will more than likely achieve better sound in the end.

If you do go with 1 SKILLED person I can't strongly recommend enough that you at least give him a dedicated PA to help him move gear, hang blankets, take care of on-set noise, etc.
 
Rippie said:
Well of course the problem you had was with the person, not the position.
I don't know your budget for a sound mixer but there are plenty of times 1 person is enough. If you do go with one guy he better be very good at his job.
You will absolutely work quicker though with a 2 member sound dept, and because the single person isn't being overwhelmed with everything you will more than likely achieve better sound in the end.

If you do go with 1 SKILLED person I can't strongly recommend enough that you at least give him a dedicated PA to help him move gear, hang blankets, take care of on-set noise, etc.
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Yeah now I'm more informed. I will be hiring a sound mixer and a boom pole operator. I want the best possible quality for sound, so I must fork out the best for the budget.


Thanks for the responses guys.
 
** cough **

http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?229971-The-film-sound-manifesto


Yes, you can hire one guy to be a sound mixer / boom op but you better pay him well and make sure you get a skilled guy with high end gear.... a sin 416 or sanken cs-3e or scheops or no go in my book... and a Sound Devices 702.

But.. most likely if you go cheap you'll get a dude with a $300 Rode mic and $300 Zoom h4n. It can still work but it won't sound stellar....
Sound is a workhorse job and should be budgeted first in my book, not last. I hate lavs and vote against them against a good boom op every time...
 
Blackout said:
** cough **

http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?229971-The-film-sound-manifesto


Yes, you can hire one guy to be a sound mixer / boom op but you better pay him well and make sure you get a skilled guy with high end gear.... a sin 416 or sanken cs-3e or scheops or no go in my book... and a Sound Devices 702.

But.. most likely if you go cheap you'll get a dude with a $300 Rode mic and $300 Zoom h4n. It can still work but it won't sound stellar....
Sound is a workhorse job and should be budgeted first in my book, not last. I hate lavs and vote against them against a good boom op every time...
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Thanks for the addition Blackout. By the way. I have a pretty crappy mic, Ive been thinking of upgrading. What mics do you recommend that will make the movie sound great?
 
I am an absolute and unequivocal fan of the Sanken CS-3e, but she is a pricey pony. Remember that the best mic in the world (the Sanken cs-3e) still won't work the magic on it's own. You need the skill of a good zen sound operator who will know how to handle it. Now a true sound pro would have a whole kit of mics, and some will say the schoeps are better (if on a sound stage) but if you can only get one mic that can handle most situations and really pull dialog out - the sanken is the one. If are only going to have one boom op sound mixer, I really don't think there is any better combo than a Sanken cs-3e going directly into a Sound Devices 702.... the quality is total pro high end, and the mixer / boom op can easily adjust levels and has lots of headroom.... but with the mic, pole, shockmount, blimp, rycote windjammer, you're looking at about $5000... so it may be best to just rent or hire a guy if you're not in it for the long haul. High end sound gear (mics especially) are some of the few things that retain most of their value, unlike cameras that are worthless a few years later.
 
ForgottPassword, thanks for taking this well, and thanks to the guys who didn't lynch the O.P. Remember we're here to educate, and this thread looks like it's helped in that mission.
 
Barry_Green said:
ForgottPassword, thanks for taking this well, and thanks to the guys who didn't lynch the O.P. Remember we're here to educate, and this thread looks like it's helped in that mission.
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As I said. I was a bit uneducated when it comes to sound, and by the sound of my tone in the first post it did seem offensive to those who work in sound. I apologize for that. Thank's for not lynching me!
 
My recommendation is to hire the production sound mixer and let him/her hire the boom-op; s/he will have a few favorites s/he likes working with.

And yes, it seems like it's expensive, but capturing quality sound on the set will save you a lot in audio post - less noise reduction and little or no ADR (unless you are doing lots of action stuff or you get a mumbler).

Please have the patience to let the sound crew capture proper room tones, and also let them capture wild FX, Foley and dialog wilds if they recommend it.

A simple rule of thumb - every dollar/minute you spend on production sound saves at least ten during audio post.

"Just because you can't see it doesn't mean you shouldn't spend money on it"
 
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